Azinger names captain's picks

They join Phil Mickelson, Stewart Cink, Kenny Perry, Jim Furyk, Ben Curtis, Justin Leonard, Anthony Kim and Boo Weekley in trying to prevent Europe making it an unprecedented fourth successive win at Valhalla on September 19-21.

Three of Azinger's quartet - Stricker, Mahan and Holmes - are rookies like Curtis, Kim and Weekley.

For Campbell it is a third successive appearance, but he has only ever won one match and has dropped to 53rd in the world.

Stricker, though, was an obvious choice.

At eighth in the world Tiger Woods and Mickelson are the only Americans above him - and Woods, of course, misses the match because of injury.

The 41-year-old former World Match Play champion was in position to qualify until Curtis finished joint second at the US PGA three weeks ago.

It will be his first Ryder Cup cap, but he played in the Presidents Cup last year and back in 1996, the season in which he also won the Dunhill Cup at St Andrews with Mickelson and Mark O'Meara.

Holmes is known for his big-hitting, but what was also in his favour is that, like Kenny Perry, he is from Kentucky and will have home state support. While he ranks third in driving distance on the US Tour this year, however, he ranks 199th in driving accuracy.

Mahan is the player who only a month ago in a magazine article talked about Ryder Cup players being used as "slaves" and hinted at possible boycotts in the future because the fun had been sucked out of it.